John King, USA
Trump: 'I have done a great service'
(CNN) – Despite the long form birth certificate released by the White House Wednesday, real estate mogul Donald Trump said "I don't make up anything" when asked about his recent claim that the president's birth certificate was missing. Still, he is undecided about paying for the sleuths he sent to Hawaii.
In an interview airing Wednesday on CNN's "John King, USA," Trump said he can now recall investigators he'd sent to Hawaii to look into President Obama's birth.
"Would I pay them? I don't know," he said. "I can say this, let me just tell you, I don't make up anything…I have done a great service to the American people."
When pressed on his role in stirring up birther controversy by CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King, Trump downplayed his actions saying, "Excuse me, every time I sit down with the press all they want to talk about is the birth certificate and I got him to do something that nobody else could get him to do and I take great credit for that."
And though the possible presidential candidate, currently in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire for several appearances, says he hasn't seen the long form birth certificate, Trump now hopes "a lot of experts will analyze it."
About this Show:
Your daily destination for political news. Join John each night as he pulls back the curtain on Washington, cuts through the partisan noise, and gets to the bottom of stories that affect you.
John King, USA aired weekdays at 6pm ET. The final show aired June 29, 2012.
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On Twitter
I get that you need to give coverage about this matter...but really...enough of Trump & his arrogance & disrespect to our President.
Please stop the insanity & move on to REAL issues...like the Royal Wedding & what kind of dress will Kate wear!! 😉
While "Rome" is burning the clown, Donald Trump, is still fideling. John I know ratings are import but for the sake of this beautiful wonderful country, The USA, that we all love stop interviewing Trump.
He is a wind bag, full of himself who is still fighting the Civil War and would love to see the Aftrican Americans go back to being slaves.
I am so proud that we elected Obama and am so upset that you give Trump air time.
Donald Trump should produce a naturalization certificate for his wife Melania who was born in Slovenia. If there is a chance that she might be First Lady shouldn't she be a citizen of the US and shouldn't her naturalization certificate be public record just like a birth certificate?
Great job, John. Go after this thin skinned con man. He has no intentions of running as he can't afford to release his financials and he knows it. He is just taking us for a ride.
John
I am Canadian and proud. I love visiting your country but I am embarrassed for those that cannot accept a Black president. The birthers are prejudiced, rascist and ignorant people. Trump is capitalizing on these groups. Shame on him.
Altho previously I had found respect for Donald Trump's work ethic, his latest lack of forethought in the birth certificate craze negates my support for him.
Way to go, Donald. Calling CNN out for constantly running interference for Oblabla may be your greatest contribution
John,
You let Trump have the pulpit. Trump is a side show and he got his money from his daddy! As a Black american I am insulted by his attitude towards the presidency. This is only allowed in america where a WHITE person can impugn the integrity of a black person and the media gives this nut credibility. I use to admire Trump, I think we truly see the petty side of him. He probably didn't pay any income taxes either.
Pleas Please Please ,no more Donald Trump.
Trump is a loud-mouthed conceited jerk. He just lost my vote.
Re Mr Trump: In my opinion Mr. Trump has an overloaded case of "THE BURDEN OF SELF IMPORTANCE," AND IS BORDERING ON RACIAL HARASSMENT AND INSULTING. What we do not need is another american running around Europe or Asia telling how wonderful they are (in their on mind) and waving their billions in the faces of the masses. A huge political blunder! (in my opinion).
Donald Trump is a rude, narcissistic egomaniac. Enough of Donald Trump. He is NOT a legitimate candidate and he should not be given all this attention.
Trump mistakenly quoted a CNN story: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/22/poll-could-trump-beat-obama-in-2012/ The poll was done by Newsweek and The Daily Beast.
John, why did you let him control the interview? Every time he said excuse me, which he did numerous times, you should of said Donald! Excuse me but if you don't stop interrupting me this interview is OVER !
I voted for Obama and probably will again; however, your insulting and disrespectful treatment of Donald Trump leads me to change to FOX Please be a lttle (a lot) more professional. This confrontational approach is really turning me off.
Stoney Burk
I just viewed John Kings interview with Donald Trump. Congratulations to John for keeping his temper during the interview.
Tump appears to me to be a person who likes to bully anyone who challanges him. He is also appears to have the same self serving narcissistic approach as Charlie Sheen.
Maybe Charlie is going to be his running mate.
Donald the pump that is exactly we call Donald Trump ,He is such a full ,he think that he is so proud of him self that he did a good jod for releasing the birth certifecate of the President.He just want a publicity about him self ,Your such a full,ignorant,conceded and self centerd millioner.So stop that attitude u have .Obama is best Presedent Of USA right now.So weakup Mr Trump you have enought million in your head ok.
John, your interview with Mr. Trump was a sham. You never challenged him on anything he said.
In fact, you allowed him to spew his stupidity over and over while you sat there nodding your head.
This is a sad day in America when the first minority president is held to something that none of the white presidents had to.
And bad journalists are as much to blame as liars and birthers.
As certain as death and taxes, I am not a fan of Donald Trump, but HE IS RIGHT in saying that Barack Hussein Obama kept saying for three years that the state of Hawaii did not issue birth certificates. Now, he produces one. What exactly is the CNN slant on this?
Can John King and CNN be honest here about Trump's poll claim? Surely everyone at CNN would easily know Trump is referring to a poll CNN reported on (not performed) showing exactly what Trump claimed.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/22/poll-could-trump-beat-obama-in-2012/
"A new survey from Newsweek and The Daily Beast indicates President Obama is ahead of Trump by only two percentage points, 43-41, well within the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. In fact, Trump fares far better against Obama than Sarah Palin, who would lose to Obama by 11 points, 51-40, according to the poll."
Mr. King was technically correct that CNN didn't conduct a poll dealing with Trump and Obama. However I believe what Trump was referring to as a CNN poll was in fact, a Survey (polls are a form of Surveys) conducted by Newsweek and reported by CNN on Feb. 22nd, 2011 by CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/22/poll-could-trump-beat-obama-in-2012/
Trump may be a buffoon, but John King brought himself to a new low in this interview. I would have like to have seen the birth certificate issue addressed with "congratulations, mission accomplished. Now let's talk about the issues that really impact the average American and how you propose to address them."
John Kings dislike of Trump was obvious in this interview. He also discredited himself with his proclamation of "CNN never conducted a poll...". Guess what about 30 seconds of google searching turned up...
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/23/cnn-poll-trump-at-10-percent-in-hypothetical-gop-battle/
I hope that CNN does not follow the path of FOX News by conducting obviously biased reporting vs staying objective and sticking to the facts.
Please CNN (and the rest of the American Media), stop giving this MORON air time! I am so SICK of this clown, and so deeply embarrassed for this country that we let this kind of nonsense lead our news. JUST STOP ALREADY!!!!!!!!
P.S. I can't believe he is taking credit for the release of the birth certificate, and blaming you and the media for keeping this debate going. I do not want a president who lies and is not accountable for his behavior.
John, it's time to move on PLEASE.
Vicki and Rosalie tell no lies. He is a wind bag, he is BEYOND arrogant, and he's bored because the real estate market is in the toilet.
He may be a good business man, but as to politics?... He's completely out of his realm, and would create a world wide fiasco of unimaginable proportions. He's good at one thing, blowing his own, poorly tuned, over combed flute. What a complete waste of a human being.
How do you keep such elegant composure while interviewing such a buffoon? The contrast between you and Donald Trump is astounding and I certainly do not want him in the White House.
His Celebrity Apprentice show is fun.. that's where he belongs.
Did he inherit some of his money?
I'm appalled at Trump's behavior in the John King interview today. He should be ashamed at treating John with such disrespect. I wish the president hadn't released his birth certificate because it gave Trump more to spout off about. I also wish John hadn't been so professional. I wish he had told Trump off because that's what I'd like to do! Trump's got my blood boiling more about how disrespectful he's being towards everyone rather than any so-called political non-issues he thinks he's legitimizing. He's insignificant politically and turning today's serious issues into a big joke. On the other hand he's great for the Dem's because he's so divisive I think independents may sway the liberal way if he's out campaigning for the primary for long. But, seriously, I don't want to hear another thing from, about or in any way reference to Donald Trump again! Sheesh!
Why in the name of Heaven is this EVEN an issue? Title 8 of the US Code, Section 1401 defines "citizens of the United States at birth" as – "Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)".
This CLEARLY makes President Obama A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. Period.
Why can our news people NOT find this information? Why are we forced to listen to talking heads, like the "Toupee", talking nonsense?
Please, please do some research – much earlier!
Congratulations John. How did you keep from punching Trump in the face?
Stop having Trump on your show – he disrespects everyone – even you – he was so arrogant – I had to change the channel.
don trump is a egotistacle puke..
Did Donald Trump support American companies before the recession? Did Donald Trump continue to buy American when it first became lucrative to buy outside of the United States? Has Donald Trump supported American workers when so many are jobless?
This guy (Donald Trump) is a moron. Moreover, he's too damn arrogant. so much so that you can't help but hate the guy. How the heck does he know how the average American is living right now. Sadly, he's very disrespectful to the office of the president. It is one thing if you don't like the president but you can't be disrespectful.
I can't wait to see this idiot get his butt handed to him. He has no deep knowledge of the issues either. He keeps talking about China manipulating its currency. At one point, he said "currencies!!" As if China has multiple currencies. He's a total idiot.
John,
I want to apologize for most of the American people and thank you for what you put up with tonight with Trump.
He is the bully in the school yard, the bull in the china shop.
He needs to be treated as such.
Such arrogance. Do I really care how much money he has?
Slap him verbally like he does to you.
Don't let him get away with his stupidity.
You and Elliott are the only 2 who can and should hold Trump's feet to the fire.
Please, please do it.
Thanks again
Stop covering Donald Trump. You are only feeding his ego and arrogance. This is not news any more if it ever was. He deserves no more air time to be so disrespectful of our president or to promulgate more lies and unfounded suspicions.
Please stop waisting your time & ours interviewing Donald Trump. He is all masks, mirrors and lies, and by paying any attention to him at all, you join one of the greatest problems we have: media failing to take a stand of integrity. Thomas Jefferson said that for our democracy to work, the people need to be informed. Please, give us news, give us alternative ideas and approaches to address the huge problems we have. And leave Donald Trump to the National Inquierer where his narcissistic antics belong.
Thanks
John King you showed extreme patience in your interview with Trump. DT's ravings remind of the old jokes about having the DT's. DT makes George Bush look like a statesman. I think DT thinks he can use the American people to take revenge on his business dealings (gone bad) with the Chinese. Surely there is no chance this man could ever become President of the USA. With so many to choose from hopefully this arrogant money mad lunitic will not become a canidate. Please quit interviewing him it is embarassing to watch the interviewer have to tolerate him.
Mr. King, I think this pompous windbag did one of the nastiest things I have ever seen in an interview. That vicious comment about your ratings was uncalled for and a typical bully technique used by fools like him. You, as a media spokesperson, could not respond to his nasty comment but I felt bad for you. He is very thin-skinned when it comes to comments said about him but he does not feel it necessary to be polite, especially to what he considers JUST A REPORTER. Trump should be careful of his mouth. He is tripping over his lies and foul mouth and he will become the laughing stock of the GOP campaign ... making poor Ms. Palin Einstein in comparison.
I hope the people in New Hampshire, see Donald Trump for what he really is, an ego maniac, that's full of himself. Who in their right mind would want him to represent them as President of anything, especially the United States. He belongs in the same category with Sara Palin, Limbaugh, the teathers and the birthers. How dare he say the President is incompetent, this man wouldn't recognize competency if it hit him in the face. He's rude, arrogant and who cares if he's wealthy, I can only imagine who he trumped and stumped all over to get it, money is not everything Donald, where are your morals and values. Do you even know what that means? Some people have skeletons in their closets, I bet he has a cemetary in his!
Hi John: I saw part of your interview with Trump today. We are going through election campaigns too, and have a couple of jack-asses running. BUT DONALD TRUMP IS THHE BIGGEST JACK-ASS I HAVE EVER SEEN OR HEARD!!!! His family should put him away for a mental evaluation.
I do hope you or someone will read this on the air – PLEASE!!!!!
Dear John King:
You have done a great job with Donald Trump today. I am a Republican, but Doald Trump is waisting our time utilizing your great CNN netwrok. In USA, we have so many major complex issue to answer and or reslove, but Trump is looking for Obama's Birth Cert.
It is a shame that we spent our time for this when we have so much economical, military and Middle East issues.
Please do not invite Trump for anothe interview.....he is waisting our time....he talks with air and empty....Thanks for listening.
Best regards,
Al
I am reminded of the old adage "what's in a name?" Where I come from (Britain) "Trump" is a slang expression for passing gas. How appropriate.
Donald Trump (DT) has shown himself to be an excellent capitalist preying upon other Americans, but his understanding of international affaris was shown (during this interview) to be lacking in sophistication. Mr. Trump stated that the Chniese should have been involved with the Libya problem, since they get oil from Libya and we do not. He only assessed one side of the problem.
For example, he indicated that since the Arab League wants him out we should have charged them 5 billion dollars. I believe that this costs would have only been passed back to us in gas costs. In addition, the reason t hat China does not enter the conflict is because they are getting the oil from the problematic regime in libya. Therefore, they have no incentive to get rid of their current oil suplier.
It appears the the quality of policy anaysts surrounding DT and possibly informing him are questionable. Just reading the papers does not seem to provide him with the professional POV required of the POTUS in order to competently deal with such complex public sector matters.
He may be doing great in the polls because of the lack of overall competition in the GOP. The birther issue he brought up is weak at best at this late date in the game. Of course he finds a way to spin this debacle in his favor hollaring he gets things done.
Contrary to Donald Trump I like you John King. Trump is just blowing his self polished trumpet and it's full of lots of hot air with no substance and he's out of tune.
What Donald Trump needs is a new haircut, plastic surgery on his mouth and a brain transplant.
I'm not upset that you interview Donald Trump, but I don't understand why Trump is allowed to spew his lies without correction.
Barack Obama's birth certificate has been posted online for almost three years. The birth cerficiate released in 2008 meets requirement of the U.S. State Department. Please stop allowing Trump's ignorance to go unchecked.
I'm really disappointed that you allowed Donald Trump to treat you very poorly during your interview today. I know, you have to be professional and you were. Thank you for that, John. I am a Canadian who can't understand why some Americans can't see the birther issue for wha it is ... a racist issue.
Donald Trump and other birthers and tea party people are racist. They refuse to accept the fact that an African American is president. Get over it folks, Barack Obama is the president. I wish some sensible Republicans would tell Donald Trump to shut up.
Trump has a long record of inflating himself and telling lies. Just goes to show you that money can't buy class and honour, nor respect.
Stop watching Trump shows now.
I don’t care if President Obama is an Alien from Pluto, and enjoys moonlight walks with his pet fish while wearing pink socks. I care about what effects just about every American, Gas prices, Taxes, Our Economy, and Several Wars.
After watching your interview tonight with Donald Trump I can honestly say that I would be happy if I never had to listen to him speak again.
He was extremely disrespectful, arrogant, rude, and one of the most unimpressive human beings that I have ever been exposed to.
We are very tired of listening to idiot Trump.
CNN wasted the last 2 weeks giving Donald Chump the airtime to talk about nonsense. I hope this is the last time we will hear about him until he decides if he's going to run or not. I think he will not. If other news stations want to cover this person then let them, but CNN has better things to cover then this conspiracy theory.
Congress was gone for 2 weeks so I can see how this would become center stage.
Trump not only is arrogant and a clown, this dummy is a big time racist. Please stop giving him air time and lets move on to fix the economy and put people back to work.
Trump is a buffoon! Why didn't John King in his interview with Trump point out the obvious? The original birth certificate that was just released reads "Certificate Of Live Birth? Oh it has a bit more information, but for all intent and purposes they are ostensibly the same.
Trumps a BAD GUY! Let's see what happens when reporters start poking around about his dealings in Atlantic City. You can't trust this guy on a whole other level than your normal lying politician.
John King,
I am a registered republican. Thank you for airing your interview with Donald Trump. I watched CNN in its entirety as the day unfolded and your show. Yes, Rome is burning... and it just shows how arrogant Donald Trump is. Wolf Blitzer said it best when he said "Trump lacks humility." Trump was totally combative for the entire duration of your interview, barely letting you get a single word in. Trump, hypocritically referrenced bad information... only to personally attack you in an attempt to undermine your creditibility as a reporter, just as he has tried to undermine the President on this birthing issue. He acts like he just single-handedly solved some sort of world crisis. He might as well have been jumping up and down claiming to be a Warlock. He is acting like Charlie Sheen! It's embarrassing. Aside from Ahmadinejad, I can't think of a world leader who would want to work with this guy. Trump, you just lost my vote. Warlock!
I think it would be VERY interesting to hear what a psychiatrist or even a profiler would have to say about Donald, Sarah , etc. Narcissistic Personality disorder ? Meglomania ? CNN and other News services need to just ignore them, the way you do a selfish, demanding kid. But what scares me is to think that there are actually people out there who would vote for Trump? Now that's unsettling.
John King-You did well airing the ENTIRE interview with Trump, especially when he pointed out your low ratings. You are to be complimented! But I bet that you will NOT compare the Obama certificate of live birth you have with the one shown just a day ago on CNN where your reporter in Hawaii showed a photostat (black background and white lettering ) of a birth certificate of another man getting a current computer generated copy of a birth certificate for 7 dollars. The Obama certificate you have is DIFFERENT from the photostat copy the other guy had, the guy that was listed in the newspaper along with Obama and born just a few minutes later (or earlier). Compare both the "guy" photostat and Obama "original" and you will find they are NOT the same format and do not have the same information. I think Obama is continuing to perpetrate a fraud!
Vicky, you are so right, enough is enough. I guess there are more important things to talk about.
Dear John,
Donald Trump had no right insulting you today on national TV telling you that your writing is not good. What was that all about, I wondered? He was mean, rude, and a jerk. I was glad you handled him with dignity and you did not lower your self to his level. Today, I realized how inhumane Donald was and how he thinks that he is better than anybody else and that people are just an object to him. If you ever have an interview with him again you need to tell him that he need to focus on the issue not drift somewhere else and tell him he need to shut his mouth and listen. He kept talking and repeating the same phrases again and again. What did he accomplish by getting Obama's birth certificate? If he really want to help America he need to learn to work with people first and show them respect.
I posted this on Obama's Face book.
Why this is issue is coming now? and why is it suddenly so important? We have so much problem in our country? Since Obama become president the poor guy had nothing but people trying to waste his time with some non sense issues. We need to let him do his job and believe in him. Good for you Donald for GETTING THE JOB DONE! The freedom of speech should be taking away from you from insulting our president on national TV and keep saying that he is "incompetent" he is incompetent because he actually cares and care about people and he is doing what he can considering the mess he had to take care of. If you really "Love America" you should work with the president and use the the power of your voice and taking control of situations and help America be the glorious country. I watched your interview with John King and that was not right of you to keep insulting him and telling him that he is does not write good. What was that all about? Do you enjoy insulting people, do you think because of your wealth you can treat people like objects? I once had a lot of respect for you but I feel you are the one who is incompetent. What was that about OPEC that they are misbehaving? Do you think they are a bunch of children? If you want to solve OPEC's problem you have first to ask why they are behaving in this way? and maybe try to work with them, that part of the world is already pissed at the United State already you have to make peace and work with these people, but for most you have to understand their culture. The only think I liked what you said today was when the US get to help other countries it is a good idea charging 5B I say charge them on everything we spend plus more for risking our our men and women. You have a big chance of becoming the next president but if you keep insulting people and making them feel they are nothing and you came across very strong making these people feel horrible you will never succeed. Capitalism is great and you are no doubt a great business man, people are not buildings or the TV you put in your apartments. Remember human compassion and listen to the Greek's philosophy.
What I don't quite understand is Trump has offered to help anyone , after he has exclaimed he loves this country so much. Rather than insult, the presidency, and the people who are in charge of validating citizenship before one can run...he's chosen to go on a defamation of character which speaks very loudly of the type of person he is. And for him to state he has done the American people a great service is a complete slap in the face to the men and women who serve this country and have laid down their lives. Instead of jabbing at the president and telling him to get off the basketball court, why doesn't Donald get off of the Apprentice, and come down and help this country he loves so much. There is much work to do other than character defame. Hey Donald guess what? YOU'RE FIRED!
I particularly liked the part where Trump says (dripping contempt) "...Colombia, EVEN Colombia is ripping us off...".
That must have made the Colombian people very happy, especially American citizens of Colombian descent.
While large tornadoes were ripping apart cities in Alabama, your foolish network was still debating Obama's birth certificate? Seriously CNN? You are a joke. It's no wonder your ratings are HORRIBLE.